Journalist, Heather Barnett, in her article, “Managing ADHD Without Medication”, interviews Dr. Sophie Golder about the symptoms and management of ADHD without medication. Barnett notes that children on ADHD medication often become different from their usual selves. The medication changes their behavior. The tone of Barnett’s questions was done in a way to provoke an emotional response to the negative impacts of medication on children. Ms. Barnett hoped to help parents and adults who may have children with ADHD or may suffer from the symptoms themselves. Barnett uses pathos and ethos to argue that there are more effective ways to treat the symptoms of ADHD than the traditional prescription medication used today.
Barnett begins with an emotional
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Golder has more than 20 years in the field of education as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, and private homeschool educator.” Parents and adults will trust that due to her prior years of experience she will know what she’s talking about. Additionally, Barnett sites Dr. Golder’s background working with special education and 504. “She has extensive knowledge of the framework and practices within specialized programs (both federal and state), including special education and 504.” This is very important to a parent dealing with an ADHD child. The term 504 is a special education designation in the public school systems for children suffering with a diagnosis of ADHD. Dr. Golder lays out a detailed outline of treatments such as proper nutrition, cognitive behavior therapy, and neurofeedback that would be best suited for children with ADHD and those who have been mistakenly diagnosed with this condition. “Dr. Golder is a trained interventionist and has facilitated drug and alcohol intervention teams within schools.” Her training is such that she appears to have the prior knowledge to support her views. Also, Dr. Golder believes in the importance of neurofeedback when working with her own children. “Dr. Golder is mother to two beautiful young-adult daughters who have both benefited greatly from neurofeedback.” This adds strength to her credibility because she is a parent herself and believes strongly enough in her work to use her methods on her
Marcia Clemmitt is a staff writer, who is also a veteran social-policy reporter. She holds a position as a high school math and physics teacher on the side of being an author. Clemmitt earned a liberal arts and science degree from St. John’s College in Annapolis. She has obtained a master’s degree in English from Georgetown University as well. Throughout the report, Clemmitt goes into detail about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, also known as ADHD. She questions on whether or not that the mental illness may be overdiagnosed for patients. In her studies, she states that within recent researches, the diagnosis for ADHD
While the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV) of the American Psychiatric Association) put forth a list of behaviors which predominantly fall in the category of ADD and/or ADHD, many researchers still maintain that there is no set way to diagnosis or develop a treatment program to these disorders which will be guaranteed to work. At the same time there is another set of researchers who maintain that these disorders actually do not exist at all. However, in the real world, parents and educators still continue to struggle with the task of coping with children who are hyperactive and who have very low attention span and whose behavior often interferes with schooling and family life. [Armstrong, 1997]
ADHD is an exceedingly real diagnosis for many children in the United States. Are we over diagnosing our little ones just to keep from dealing with unpleasant behavior? “ On average 1 of every 10 to 15 children in the United States has been diagnosed with the disorder, and 1 in every 20 to 25 uses a stimulant medication” (Mayes, Bagwell, & Erkulwater, 2008). Several believe that virtually all ADHD diagnoses are retractable with appropriate discipline of children instead of being so hasty in medicating them. The material found on the CDC website describes facts about ADHD, it clarifies the signs, symptoms, types, causes, diagnosis tools, and treatment forms of ADHD. What the article neglects to go into is the reality that there is a considerable amount of controversy surrounding ADHD. The CDCs usage of ethos, pathos, and logos and by what method the website manipulates them to affect the reader will be the basis of this paper.
There are several stimulant medications that are commonly used throughout the world to treat behavioral disorders for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. Some of the medications used to treat this disorder are Adderall, Concerta, Focalin, Methylin, Ritalin, and Vyvanse. These are all stimulant drugs that help treat the symptoms of ADHD in very similar ways. I will specifically be focusing on Adderall. Adderall is constructed of amphetamine and dextroamphetamine which are central nervous system stimulants. Central nervous system stimulants affect the chemicals in the brain and nerves that contribute to hyperactivity and impulse control. Not only can Adderall be a life changing medication when prescribed to a patient with ADHD,
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is the main type used to treat ADHD in psychotherapy treatment for children. Moreover, it integrates the following two components: behavioural interventions; and parent training. The main goal is improving the daily functioning of the child by improving their behaviour, family, and peer relationships. Interventions for parents are designed to help parents develop optimal strategies to cope with the difficult behaviour to or coexist with ADHD rather than addressing the core symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. By doing so, answering the research question, could help us to modify their behaviour and raising their grades. Teachers can create an enhanced learning environment for all children
Stolzer, PhD, J. M. (2007). The ADHD Epidemic in America. Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry, 9, 109-116.
During my childhood, many of my cousins have been diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD. They have been restricted from many different foods with high amounts of sugar because they became “hyper”. Because of the lack of information about ADHD, children are diagnosed very late and they have not received the proper treatment needed. Today, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), have been helping spread information about various diseases including ADHD. The website provides types, diagnosis, symptoms, and treatment options for ADHD and many more diseases. While reading the web page, readers may find specific details about the authors’ writing and different tools they used to persuade the audience. The CDC spreads information and provides comfort to parents, and those suffering from ADHD by utilizing rhetorical devices such as logos, ethos, and pathos effectively.
One of these experts is Noah Yulish, a professor of Psychology at Yale University, writes about ADHD through the eyes of someone who has been diagnosed with the disorder, in the article “Think Seriously about ADHD.” In his article, he does not place anyone responsible for causing the problem of the mass diagnosing of the disorder, but he prompts the reader to take the disease seriously, because he believe that it is, in fact a real disorder that can affect people’s lives. He goes on to explain the havoc ADHD can create in a person’s life, which includes lack of productivity and problems concentrating in school. On the other hand, the article “Expand Pre-K, Not ADHD” was written by Stephen P. Hinshaw, a professor of psychology at University of California-Berkeley and Richard M. Schieffler, a professor of econom...
At least one in four families in the U.S. is affected by mental illnesses. Unfortunately there is no cure for this range of illnesses, which have been around for thousands of years. Of the American adult population, 5.4 percent have a serious mental illness. These health conditions are characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, behavior, or some combination of these. They are also associated with distress and sometimes impaired functioning. In 1990 the total cost of mental health services in the U.S. was $148 billion. According to a new report by the Mental Health Foundation, one in five children suffer from a mental health problem. Attention deficit hyperactive disorder is a mental illness that is diagnosed mainly in young children and doesn’t always disappear in adulthood.” All we know is that this genetic, inherited condition [ADHD] is not due to brain damage at all but rather a variation in how the brain functions.” Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) includes symptoms and characteristics that can be placed in one of three categories: inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. These characteristics commonly leave a person with ADHD with lack of attention span, easily distracted, fidgety, struggling to stay seated, having trouble engaging in calm activities, impatient, and talking excessively or out of turn. A new study by researchers says that hyperactive children have behavioral differences due to under active parts of their brain, a biological malfunction, rather than due to way they were brought up. This was revealed by a magnetic scanning device that allowed researchers to look at the brains of children diagnosed with ADHD. These studies and statistics reinforce the claim that mental illnesses are not invented simply to justify drugging of children and a disease that needs be educated to the public for better understanding. Rather, ADHD is an illness that affects many people throughout their lives. This topic is often misunderstood by the public. The media and medical community need to educate the positive side of this controversy and not just show the opposing view, which often times misrepresented by the media.
ADHD is a disorder that has been on the rise for several years now. The disorder is one that can cause many impairments to a child’s attention span, making it difficult to concentrate and to keep on task, especially on schoolwork. (Graham, 2007) The statistics have been growing ...
The purpose of this research was to describe and understand Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and the most effective treatment options that are available today. ADHD is a mental health disorder that affects 3-9% of the population in ways that, if left untreated, can wreak havoc on the mind of the sufferer. It makes concentration difficult, large tasks seem insurmountable, and causes impulsive and hyperactive tendencies. Fortunately, research and experiments have led to new and effective treatments to help those who suffer from this disorder (Dupaul 8). This research examined journal articles and internet sources on the topic to help unlock the complexities of the disorder through scientific research. It also was a way to separate the myths of the disorder from the truths, while discovering the causes, diagnosis methods, and best treatment alternatives to battle this prevalent disorder.
Chandler, C. (2011). The Science of ADHD: A Guide for Parents and Professionals. New York:
ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) is a psychological disorder prone to ethical issues within its treatments through the use of Methylphenidate otherwise known as Ritalin, Ritalin is the current leading form of pharmacological treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and there has seen a dramatic increase in prescription rate over the past ten years, which have raised some ethical issues with its prescription. There are no present biological basis for ADHD diagnosis results in physicians making their diagnoses based on behavioural symptoms such as hyperactivity and inability to focus. Considering that these symptoms are behaviours that anyone may express at one point in their life, the risk of over-diagnosis of the disease increases. This may subsequently lead to over-prescription of Ritalin. Diagnosing ADHD is particularly difficult in young children as its symptoms are based on judgements of behaviour relative to other children who portray ‘normal behaviour’, however the symptoms of ADHD can be seen as normal behaviour for children as it normal for some children to be hyperactive. A review of prescription data for 300,000 children ages 19 and younger showed that, for the first time in history, spending for medications for childhood behaviour problems was more than the expenditure on any other child drug category, including drug like antibiotics. This evidence raises concerns over the possibility of Ritalin and its over-prescription for ADHD, especially in children as the disorder is mainly seen in childhood. Defining ADHD is still subjected to debate, and it has been observed that diagnosis of the disease is increasing as the diagnostic criteria changes, thereby leading to an over-diagnosis ...
According to Dr. Robert Epstein, Medco’s chief medical officer, seventeen percent of total drug cost spending last year was for behavior medicines; compared with sixteen percent for both asthma and antibiotics, eleven percent for skin disorders and six percent for allergy medicines. There was also a 369% increase in spending on ADHD drugs for kids under the age of five. A lot of children have been diagnosed with ADHD, and many of their parents have opted to give them behavioral drugs. Some parents give the drugs because they are not aware of the long term effects or the psychological dependency, and lastly because they are not aware of the alternatives. As parents we have to be more cognizant of what these disorders are and how they affect the child. Drugs are not always the only solution.
Kirkpatrick, LaVonne. "ADHD Treatment And Medication: What Do You Need To Know As An Educator?." Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin 72.1 (2005): 19-29. Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 26 Mar. 2012.